Morphological appearance of the healing corneal endothelium.

We studied endothelial cell patterns in both the central and the superior regions of the cornea in 43 cases of cataract extraction and intraocular lens implantation. During the early postoperative period, the central endothelial cells maintained their preoperative appearance. The endothelium within 3 to 4 mm of the superior limbus, however, demonstrated large dark areas where no cell outlines were visible, bounded by large cells. During the late postoperative period, there was an increase in the size and a reduction in the density of the central endothelial cells. In the periphery the previously acellular areas were populated with cells of varying diameter. These changes are consistent with postoperative spreading and sliding of existing cells to cover the traumatized cell-free areas. Central endothelial cell density in the early postoperative period does not accurately reflect the actual degree of cell loss.